The present invention relates to an analytical system which is useful in the diagnosis of a disease, and more particularly to an analytical system which is most suitable for measuring a plurality of analysis items of biological samples.
A conventional procedure for obtaining analysis data of a biological sample by a doctor so as to learn the condition of a disease of a patient is as described. First, blood is gathered from the patient so as to conduct a screening test. To measure the biological samples with an automated analyzer, for example, a biochemical analyzer as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,612 or an immuno-assay apparatus as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,238 can be used.
Next, the doctor makes a preliminary diagnosis in consideration of the analysis data which is obtained as a result of the screening test. When the preliminary diagnosis shows that there is a possibility of a disease, blood is gathered from the patient again. The biological samples are used for specific tests so as to have an accurate grasp of the condition of a disease. The doctor makes a final diagnosis on the basis of the results of the specific tests.
To execute the specific tests, in addition to the aforementioned prior art, for example, a gene assay as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,605 (corresponding to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-92300) can be applied.
According to the aforementioned procedure, after the first blood gathering date, it is necessary for the patient to go the hospital for a second blood gathering. In addition, it is necessary that the doctor make a preliminary diagnosis on the basis of the primary test results and a definite diagnosis on the basis of the secondary test results on different days. This conventional method may be greatly painful for the patient and inefficient for the doctor.